The Wings That Bear Me
by Elissa Theirin
Summary: Marian Hawke is forced to flee to Kirkwall when the Blight mercilessly destroys her home country, Ferelden. She rises from a lowly refugee aloft wings made of strength, honour, friendship and love to become a legend. Female mage Hawke and Anders pairing. Rated T for violence, language and sexual content.


**Hello all and welcome to my Dragon Age II fanfiction! If you've read either my Skyrim or Dragon Age: Origins stories, welcome back, it's good to see you again! If you're new here, then nice to meet you, and thank you for choosing to read my fanfiction today ;p **

**I apologize if it seems a little rough and has typos, I'm doing this without a beta reader. Regardless, I hope you enjoy :)**

The Wings That Bear Me

_Prelude_

"_Anders…what have you done?" The question tumbled from Hawke's lips as she could sense a powerful and dangerous magic building up to the north, in the Chantry. _

_Then she could see the results of his actions, manifesting as light the colour of blood began, pouring out from the sacred place, straining against the confines of the sturdy structure. Eventually it pulsed outwards with the might of a hurricane, all but reducing it to rubble. Marian cried out as the force struck her and knocked her off balance, her head smacking against the ground. The world around her diminished to a collection of black and red dots as she tried to regain her footing, squinting out through her pain and impaired sight._

_When her vision was restored, all she could see was the distress of Templar and mage alike and Anders, wreathed in blue light that poured from out the cracks in his skin…_

Chapter 1

"_Hawke's are meant to fly, not fall." _The words her father spoke to her on his deathbed resounded through her mind. It was the words her family spoke to one another in their moments of doubt or despair, when they feared the Templars would swoop down upon them with the strength of Andraste and the pitilessness of a demon. It was another, more private way of saying "keep going", but sometimes it was difficult.

Like now, for example. A Blight had been unleashed on Ferelden, and it seemed intent on spoiling and destroying everything in its path. They had still been in Lothering when the darkspawn fell upon Lothering. The plant life itself shrivelled and died just from the presence of the monsters that cut down all the men and Marian saw them kidnap women, but for what purpose she didn't know, and didn't want to either.

She gathered up what possessions they would need and fled the place she was born and brought up in with her younger twin siblings, Carver and Bethany and her mother. Their home was lost.

Marian didn't know for how long they ran, or how far, but it was only until they could no longer hear the din of the Blight that she and the rest of her family stopped, her mother and siblings slumping to the wasted ground in exhaustion.

"Maker's breath we've lost it all!" mother lamented once she had regained her breath. "Everything you're father and I built."

Her mother's devastation made Marian's heart swell in guilt and empathy. She had not wished to part from her home village so soon.

"I'm sorry mother. I know how much Lothering meant to you," she said, an inept attempt at bringing the aging woman so comfort.

"We should have run sooner. We shouldn't have waited so long," Bethany declared, glaring at her twin.

"Don't look at me like that!" he yelled, "I've been running since Ostagar."

The twins were identical aesthetically, both having raven black hair, Carver's cropped short, Bethany's curly and shoulder-length, and the light tan to their skin and more rounded facial features they inherited from their mother. Bethany also had her mother's pug-like nose and light brown eyes, whereas Carver had inherited his father's bright blue eyes. Both the same age, and similar in looks, but they scarce agreed on anything.

Marian, on the other hand, looked nothing like the twins. Her hair too was black, but had a blue tint when it caught the sun, and she had grown it out long. She had inherited the pale skin of her father, as well as his sapphire eyes and angular, sharp facial features. Her family was made of well-built frames, muscular, strapping men and voluptuous, curvy women. Marian on the other hand was petite. Her mother said it was an Amell gene, the her grandmother had also been dainty in stature. Despite this, Marian was expected to take on the role as the family protector, constantly putting her at odds with her brother that claimed he was over-shadowed by her. Something she and Beth had in common.

"We're can't stay here, we need to leave," Marian interjected before the argument escalated.

"But where?" Bethany asked.

"We could go to Kirkwall," their mother suggested reluctantly.

"Well, that wouldn't be my first choice," Marian replied. She knew much about the city's reputation as being one of the worst places for mages to abide. The Templars there were severe in their punishment and far more vigilant than anywhere else in Thedas.

"There's a lot of Templars in Kirkwall mother," Bethany protested, voicing both hers and her elder sisters' fears.

"I know that, but we still have family there. And an estate." There gleamed a glimmer of hope in her eyes, as well as desire. Their mother was a scion of the Amells', an influential and wealthy noble family in Kirkwall. Despite declaring she preferred life with Malcolm and their children, mother still missed the respect and luxury that came with being a noble. She had been groomed to live as such.

Bethany sighed in defeat. "Then we need to get to Gwaren and take ship."

"If we even survive that long. We'll be lucky to get out of here," Carver intoned grimly, before striding forward.

But then an all too familiar growl stopped him in his tracks.

"Shit! They've caught up to us!" Marian cried as a group of darkspawn scurried into view.

She loosed her staff from the holster on her back, her brother and sister likewise drawing their weapons as their mother ran to a safe distance from the fight.

Carver rushed forward to meet the beasts in sword-to-sword combat, the two sisters staying away from the bulk of the fray where they could safely cast spells.

Caver's sword opened up one darkspawns abdomen, only a single string of flesh keeping the two halves of the body together. The massive blade deflected a darkspawns that was then encased in ice by Marian, allowing Carver to smash the beast to tiny chunks. Bethany lobbed a fireball at a trio of 'spawn that were about to flank Carver. Marian noticed a small number had broken off from the fight and were sprinting towards them. From her hands she shot out a lightning bolt that leapt from one to another, sending them all into a spasm which halted them in their tracks. She impaled a much closer on with the bladed end of her staff, before channelling down the weapon a fire spell that transferred directly inside the wounds, setting its insides on fire before it manifested on the exterior.

Bethany scurried away to the right, then cast of cone of cold on four darkspawns that were all vying to stab her brother in the back. He turned around in shock, and noticed a figure looming behind his other sister.

"Marian!" he bellowed, pointing.

The pommel of the blade struck the base of her skull before she could react, blotting out the world.

**Thank you for reading the first chapter, feedback would be appreciated, but no flames please! :)**


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